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Mythological Journey to the Aztec Lands of the Dead

In Aztec cosmology, the soul’s journey to the Underworld after death leaves them with four destinations: the Sacred Orchard of the Gods, the Place of Darkness, the Kingdom of the Sun, and a paradise called the Mansion of the Moon. The most common deaths end up on their way to Mictlán with its nine levels, crashing mountains and rushing rivers, and four years of struggle. This pantheon of gods and goddesses and the expanse of the 13 Heavens provides the cultural basis for the Day of the Dead customs and celebrations.

As California continues with massive wind-driven, high-intensity wildfires that often turn deadly, the governmental and institutional response has been to thin forests and "grind up vegetation" to fight fires. Naomi Pitcairn points to a movement by plant community and wildfire experts led by the Richard Halsey of the Chaparral Institute to focus on protecting vulnerable communities rather than trying to control nature, which now faces extreme heatwaves and droughts from an unpredictable greenhouse-gas-warmed climate.

Confronting Wildfire: Retrofit Communities, Not Forests

As California continues with massive wind-driven, high-intensity wildfires that often turn deadly, the governmental and institutional response has been to thin forests and “grind up vegetation” to fight fires. Naomi Pitcairn points to a movement by plant community and wildfire experts led by the Richard Halsey of the Chaparral Institute to focus on protecting vulnerable communities rather than trying to control nature, which now faces extreme heatwaves and droughts from an unpredictable greenhouse-gas-warmed climate.

San Onofre Nuclear Waste Dangers Compound

Since it was closed for safety violastions in 2012, the dangers of San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS) between Orange County and San Diego have only continued to loom. Listen to this EcoJustice Radio interview with activists from Public Watchdogs explain how the nuclear waste being buried on the beach poses serious dangers to California.

Waste Colonization, Plastic Pollution and the Pacific Gyre

How do we confront the swirling gyres of plastic pollution dumped into our oceans? EcoJustice Radio on KPFK-Los Angeles examines the social and environmental implications of wasted resources, and follow two interrelated approaches to solving the problem from an indigenous woman doing exemplary work in New Zealand and an LA-based plastics pollution fighter who built a raft made of plastic junk and crossed the Pacific.

Rise for Climate Los Angeles: September 8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIrn_UcpgSM

On September 8, the international Rise for Climate Day of Action is bringing people together for Climate, Jobs, and Justice, calling on governments, corporations, and organizations to initiate aggressive action on climate change, protect frontline communities, and create good jobs in the clean energy economy. Join us to Rise Together in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 8, in solidarity with events in San Francisco and around the globe that same day.

According to a former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chief, the beach in front of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station could become a permanent nuclear waste dump. Learn why Edison's program of storing deadly nuclear waste on the beach is not a "temporary" plan. And cartoonist Jerry Collamer weighs in.

2August 7, 2018

San Onofre Beach as Permanent Nuclear Waste Dump

According to a former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chief, the beach in front of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station could become a permanent nuclear waste dump. Learn why Edison’s program of storing deadly nuclear waste on the beach is not a “temporary” plan. And cartoonist Jerry Collamer weighs in.

In ancient Roman religion, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. The following myth tells how her daughter Proserpina was abducted by the ruler of the underworld, forced to become his wife, but with Ceres' help, she watches over the springtime growth of crops and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth or renewal.

0June 29, 2018

The Underworld, Rebirth and Renewal with Ceres and Proserpina

In ancient Roman religion, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. The following myth tells how her daughter Proserpina was abducted by the ruler of the underworld, forced to become his wife, but with Ceres’ help, she watches over the springtime growth of crops and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth or renewal.

Idrissa Ouédraogo, whose simple, carefully observed movies about cultural change in Burkina Faso and elsewhere in Africa, brought him international acclaim and a top award at the Cannes International Film Festival, recently died. We share his first film, Yam Daabo (The Choice) about a family facing famine in the Sahel.

1June 3, 2018

Cinematic Cultural Change in West Africa with Idrissa Ouédraogo

Idrissa Ouédraogo, whose simple, carefully observed movies about cultural change in Burkina Faso and elsewhere in Africa, brought him international acclaim and a top award at the Cannes International Film Festival, recently died. We share his first film, Yam Daabo (The Choice) about a family facing famine in the Sahel.

His alter-ego Zuckerman, unconsciously frightened of success and of failure, frightened of being admired and also despised, frightened of being frightened, he unconsciously suppressed his talent, frightened of what it might do next. On the passing of Philip Roth, we look into his often black comic chronicles of an imagined life, his taking down and reshaping the meaning of 'Jewish American', and his play at historic re-creating the zeitgeist within the form of the novel.

0June 2, 2018

Mild Satire, Outrage and Hostility, with Philip Roth

His alter-ego Zuckerman, unconsciously frightened of success and of failure, frightened of being admired and also despised, frightened of being frightened, he unconsciously suppressed his talent, frightened of what it might do next. On the passing of Philip Roth, we look into his often black comic chronicles of an imagined life, his taking down and reshaping the meaning of ‘Jewish American’, and his play at historic re-creating the zeitgeist within the form of the novel.

Gene Krupa (1909 – 1973) pioneered orchestral jazz and Big Band from the flamboyant drum side, pounding tom-toms, high hats, and cymbals through the 30s, 40s, and 50s, as one of the most remarkable percussionists out there.

0April 10, 2018

Big Noise from Big Band Drummer Gene Krupa

youtu.be/r8gvJnhTY2s

Gene Krupa (1909 – 1973) pioneered orchestral jazz and Big Band from the flamboyant drum side, pounding tom-toms, high hats, and cymbals through the 30s, 40s, and 50s, as one of the most remarkable percussionists out there.

Editors' Picks

Loose Nuts: Edison Reveals Huge Gap in Safety at San Onofre
Posted on April 9, 2018 | 1 Comment
Toonman Collamer opines: Work crews transferring radioactive spent fuel (nuclear waste) at the San Onofre nuclear plant from cooling pools into dry storage discovered a loose bolt inside one of the canisters, prompting Southern California Edison to temporarily halt the relocation effort. -- Los Angeles Times
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The US Shame of My Lai in Vietnam
Posted on March 17, 2018 | No Comments
On the 50th anniversary of the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War, we honor the efforts of Army helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson to stop the madness and endure the quest for truth, and share the Vietnamese-made documentary, 'The Sound of the Violin in My Lai'.
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The Lucrative and Violent Curse of Coltan Mining in Congo
Posted on March 3, 2018 | No Comments
One of Africa's most rare-minerals-rich countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo, has endured Belgian colonization, slavery, and continuing atrocities, where militant groups control the extraction of "conflict resources." The tech industry turns these extracted raw materials into components of mobile phones and computers. Yet the cost is deadly.
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